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Mr. Pipes #2
Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation
This novel is the second book in the Mr. Pipes series which provides teens with an engaging study of the historical backgrounds of several hymns from the Reformation era. Annie and Drew continue their
240 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2000
14 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Bond
79 books227 followersDouglas Bond, author of more than thirty books--several now in Dutch, Portuguese, Romanian, and Korean--is father of six, and grandfather of eleven--and counting--is Director for the Oxford Creative Writing Master Class and the Carolina Creative Writing Master Class, two-time Grace Award book finalist, adjunct instructor in Church history, recent advisory member to the national committee for Reformed University Fellowship, award-winning teacher, speaker at conferences, and leader of Church history tours in Europe.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 9, 2017
Years ago a wonderful friend of ours taught me to love my hymnbook. He told me the stories behind the hymns, introduced me to the men and women who authored or composed the hymn, and even explained unfamiliar terminology. Next to my Bible, my hymnbook became my all time favorite book. I've made notes in it, bookmarked favorites, studied and highlighted stanzas, and memorized many hymns over the past decade. I even like to carry my very own copy to church with me on Sundays. Passing on this love of hymns to my children became my next ambition. It was through the life and times of Mr. Pipes that these hymns came to life. I read them over and over to my children until they caught the fever :) Other than a love of God's Word and a strong prayer life, I cannot think of another gift so special to give to your children than the love of worship- mature, purposeful, informed, worship, of our Heavenly Father. I am so thankful to Douglas Bond for writing these phenomenal books which enabled me to pass on a love for worshiping God through the singing, and understanding, of these great hymns of faith.
November 19, 2022
For what this book was trying to do - make history of reformation hymn writing appealing to kids - it was effective enough.
We read this “sequel” without having read the first book, and although this referenced the first one, it stood alone just fine.
The theology was sound, as the history of the reformation was addressed through the lens of hymn writers of the era.
It doesn’t shy away from addressing some of the more difficult aspects of the reformation either: wars, martyrdom, even the death of children.
There was a semi-moralistic tone one might expect from a “Christian” kids book. A lot of it coming in the forms of “tsking”/looks/comments from the elderly fatherly figure, so although obvious to me, I don’t think it was too heavy handed to bother my kids.
The overarching narrative had enough adventure to keep interest, with just enough suspense to keep the pages turning (although it actually slows down and loses a bit of momentum near the end.) The climax was a little too abrupt and, well , anticlimactic (also, easily predicted).
The characters were half a step above caricatures and mostly flat with tropes relied upon heavily: the girl adored nature, the boy was obsessed with food and fishing.
There was a LOT of detailed description throughout, especially of landscapes and historic landmarks.
At times it felt a bit overkill and slowed the story down a lot. There were two whole pages dedicated to describing a meal at McDonalds - not necessary, ha!
I’m general though the descriptiveness *did* help with visualizing the historic context of the journey they took through Germany (mainly) and Switzerland - but a lot of the verbiage used for descriptions of the architecture, etc would be lost on most American kids. We used it as an opportunity to pull up YouTube clips of the sights and that made the experience all the more engaging and educational.
Overall, I would recommend it for someone looking to enrich or supplement their study of Reformation for (upper) elementary ages.
We read this “sequel” without having read the first book, and although this referenced the first one, it stood alone just fine.
The theology was sound, as the history of the reformation was addressed through the lens of hymn writers of the era.
It doesn’t shy away from addressing some of the more difficult aspects of the reformation either: wars, martyrdom, even the death of children.
There was a semi-moralistic tone one might expect from a “Christian” kids book. A lot of it coming in the forms of “tsking”/looks/comments from the elderly fatherly figure, so although obvious to me, I don’t think it was too heavy handed to bother my kids.
The overarching narrative had enough adventure to keep interest, with just enough suspense to keep the pages turning (although it actually slows down and loses a bit of momentum near the end.) The climax was a little too abrupt and, well , anticlimactic (also, easily predicted).
The characters were half a step above caricatures and mostly flat with tropes relied upon heavily: the girl adored nature, the boy was obsessed with food and fishing.
There was a LOT of detailed description throughout, especially of landscapes and historic landmarks.
At times it felt a bit overkill and slowed the story down a lot. There were two whole pages dedicated to describing a meal at McDonalds - not necessary, ha!
I’m general though the descriptiveness *did* help with visualizing the historic context of the journey they took through Germany (mainly) and Switzerland - but a lot of the verbiage used for descriptions of the architecture, etc would be lost on most American kids. We used it as an opportunity to pull up YouTube clips of the sights and that made the experience all the more engaging and educational.
Overall, I would recommend it for someone looking to enrich or supplement their study of Reformation for (upper) elementary ages.
July 25, 2020
I wouldn't call this a dynamic read, nor does it have a compelling plot. But for what he was trying to do (expose children to lives of hymn-writers and grow their knowledge of hymns), he did a fine enough job. While I would not necessarily choose to read this on my own, my kiddos enjoyed it quite a bit as a read-aloud!
October 28, 2025
BOOK THOUGHTS:
> 2 children tour Europe with a beloved elderly man who shows them many historic sites
> focuses on hymn writers and other Christian figures of the Protestant Reformation time period
> convo: mentions persecution (worst being a brief mention of lighting ministers on fire, locking women & children in a church and setting it on fire)
> no language concerns
> includes the music for a hymn at the end of each chapter
Type: chapter book
Ages: 6+ (listeners), 8+ (readers)
Bond’s love for Christ’s church shines clearly through the text of this book. Readers truly receive a neat education about church history and unique cultural customs while traveling all sorts of ways across a few different countries. You’ll even enjoy bits of a mystery that isn’t solved till the end!
Here’s my [light] critique: It’s cheesy at times and verbose in descriptions. To me, though, it was worth it. Reading it aloud to my children was pleasant for all of us. The storyline is gently engaging and many ages could enjoy listening to or reading it. My favorite parts were when a German spoke, because doing the accents was so fun, ha!
If you plan on reading this for Reformation Month and don’t have a lot of time, I’d start it in September due to its lengthiness. However, it’s set during one summer, so that would be a lovely time to read it, too! Mr. Pipes, Annie, and Drew travel via plane, car, train, and ship. They meet all sorts of neat people and experience an unforgettable trip. I hope your family can enjoy it!
> 2 children tour Europe with a beloved elderly man who shows them many historic sites
> focuses on hymn writers and other Christian figures of the Protestant Reformation time period
> convo: mentions persecution (worst being a brief mention of lighting ministers on fire, locking women & children in a church and setting it on fire)
> no language concerns
> includes the music for a hymn at the end of each chapter
Type: chapter book
Ages: 6+ (listeners), 8+ (readers)
Bond’s love for Christ’s church shines clearly through the text of this book. Readers truly receive a neat education about church history and unique cultural customs while traveling all sorts of ways across a few different countries. You’ll even enjoy bits of a mystery that isn’t solved till the end!
Here’s my [light] critique: It’s cheesy at times and verbose in descriptions. To me, though, it was worth it. Reading it aloud to my children was pleasant for all of us. The storyline is gently engaging and many ages could enjoy listening to or reading it. My favorite parts were when a German spoke, because doing the accents was so fun, ha!
If you plan on reading this for Reformation Month and don’t have a lot of time, I’d start it in September due to its lengthiness. However, it’s set during one summer, so that would be a lovely time to read it, too! Mr. Pipes, Annie, and Drew travel via plane, car, train, and ship. They meet all sorts of neat people and experience an unforgettable trip. I hope your family can enjoy it!
March 20, 2024
This book does a wonderful job of weaving together the history of hymn writers during the Reformation, major historical events and places, and the gospel. It does get a little long winded on the descriptions and some of the plot elements were easily guessed but it was enjoyable and informative.
May 2, 2018
Good book making the psalm writers of the reformation come to life. A little dry in places but overall good for history read aloud.
February 10, 2023
Such an engaging story filled with vivid descriptions and historical information.
March 13, 2018
Reminded me of the magic tree house series with a biblical perspective.
February 22, 2014
We just couldn't do it. We made it 3 chapters and gave up.
Two children are permitted by their parents to travel with a stranger they met the previous summer throughout Europe. It's weird, folks. Oh sure, it's clear we are all supposed to think Mr. Pipes is wonderful, but why didn't he just make him their actual grandfather?! That would have reduced the creep factor significantly.
The author gives rich, and somewhat belabored, descriptions of the architecture of 3 separate locations (Olney, London, and Calais) and references 2 hymns in these first chapters. To do the book justice, one would need to look up these locations and provide the children visuals of these styles, while also finding the hymns (perhaps on YouTube).
Clearly, the author via Mr. Pipes views the olden days of Europe with nostalgia. But, while he rhapsodizes about architecture and art and the church, at least in the early chapters, he doesn't wrestle with any of the deeper questions of the history of the church.
If you want to expose your children to the architecture, music and art of classic European Christianity without any of that bloody conflict between Catholics and Protestants, or the struggle with how much time, money and labor was put into each soaring cathedral, this might be the book for you. I'm not so convinced this fundamentalist approach will be beneficial for our students. But if you go for it, be prepared to work hard to read and illustrate and explain this book - start with the relationship between Mr. Pipes and the children.
Two children are permitted by their parents to travel with a stranger they met the previous summer throughout Europe. It's weird, folks. Oh sure, it's clear we are all supposed to think Mr. Pipes is wonderful, but why didn't he just make him their actual grandfather?! That would have reduced the creep factor significantly.
The author gives rich, and somewhat belabored, descriptions of the architecture of 3 separate locations (Olney, London, and Calais) and references 2 hymns in these first chapters. To do the book justice, one would need to look up these locations and provide the children visuals of these styles, while also finding the hymns (perhaps on YouTube).
Clearly, the author via Mr. Pipes views the olden days of Europe with nostalgia. But, while he rhapsodizes about architecture and art and the church, at least in the early chapters, he doesn't wrestle with any of the deeper questions of the history of the church.
If you want to expose your children to the architecture, music and art of classic European Christianity without any of that bloody conflict between Catholics and Protestants, or the struggle with how much time, money and labor was put into each soaring cathedral, this might be the book for you. I'm not so convinced this fundamentalist approach will be beneficial for our students. But if you go for it, be prepared to work hard to read and illustrate and explain this book - start with the relationship between Mr. Pipes and the children.
August 7, 2007
I read this as an assignment for a Christian homeschooling academy in which I was enrolled. I was, thankfully, removed from that particular educational program a year later.
As with the other Mr. Pipes book I was forced to read, this book was a dreadful piece of crap (the academy sure didn't like it when I said that during a book review). The dialogue was moronic; the situations were moronic; and the life lessons I was supposed to be learning were lost because I was so unbelievably bored.
I'd have all me teeth removed with a hammer before reading another Mr. Pipes book. Douglas Bond, be ashamed of the creation you brought into this world.
As with the other Mr. Pipes book I was forced to read, this book was a dreadful piece of crap (the academy sure didn't like it when I said that during a book review). The dialogue was moronic; the situations were moronic; and the life lessons I was supposed to be learning were lost because I was so unbelievably bored.
I'd have all me teeth removed with a hammer before reading another Mr. Pipes book. Douglas Bond, be ashamed of the creation you brought into this world.
January 19, 2014
Want good hymn history plus a little mystery? Look no further!
December 19, 2014
Good book. I read this as a read aloud and the kids really enjoyed the suspense that is added into the story line. I liked that it reinforced what we have been studying in history.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews